Weight loss goal rewards?

MrsCarrieRobinson

Hey everyone, I joined a couple days ago (feel free to add me). My weight struggle however is not a new thing. I have been reading different trips, tricks and ideas to get me motivated. I am doing ok now, I feel great and ready take charge. I do know from many failed attempts that soon the honeymoon will be over (the diet honeymoon that is), I will want to huck my head of lettuce out the kitchen window and be done with it. So instead of waiting until I reach a point of complete destruction I want to have a few tricks up my sleeve.

I read about a reward system...at first I thought 'wow that is kind of childish. Like I need to reward myself whenever I do good like I'm five' and then the child in me spoke up and said 'REWARDS!!!! That's an awesome idea!'.....so with that being said where do you stand on rewards? Do you think rewards should be daily, weekly, monthly or maybe by milestone like every 5 lbs or every 10 lbs. There is also the idea of mini goals. For example I want to lose 30lbs by Christmas, if I reach by mini goal I get my reward. Or maybe just one big reward at the end when goal weight is met. And what would said rewards be? Obviously not food. Or is losing the weight reward enough?

Jonathanaxfeldt

Here's my take on it:

I friggin LOVE chocolate, and I could easily eat way too much of it as well. I haven't had a single piece of chocolate since I started my diet and I'm not going to until I reach a certain goal. But then I will only allow myself a certain ammount. So yeah I'd say that the reward-system is quite great. So now I allow myself to cheat one meal per week, and that works pretty great as well.

gekcsk

I think the reward system is good. If I stay on plan and don't mess up I feel pretty good about it. So when I weigh on Tues morning ( I only weigh once a week) if I have lost anything, and I do mean anything, (any loss is a good thing) then I do give myself a little treat. It may be something that I am really hungry for but don't normally allow myself. It gives me something to look forward to and also helps me stay on track. I am not totally depriving myself so I don't go hog wild when i do have it. Good luck and weelcome. I am kind of new also.

MrsCarrieRobinson

I too am a chocoholic! I will have to wait a while before I can start re-introducing it in to my diet. I don't think I could control myself just yet
You are right gekcsk any loss is a good loss! I like your idea of not depriving yourself. Once I get in to more of a groove I will revisit that idea. I think for now I might try something less tempting but still rewarding. I also weigh in once a week, it keeps me from going neurotic. I think if the scale goes down on my weekly weigh in I will put $5 away to use towards a beauty treatment...massage, facial, manicure, pedicure. I am a stay at home mom and I NEVER pamper myself so this would be a big reward for me.

roswyn80

My reward to myself was going to be a Wii Fit when I lost 10kg. I'd been stuck at around 9-9.5kg for a week or so and nothing I seemed to do would shift it, so I bought myself my reward a little early to motivate me.

Now I'm aiming for 15kg lost by my birthday on Sept 15 - that'll be the best birthday present ever!

printererror

I've read everywhere that one or two "cheat meals" a week can be good for keeping up morale. They don't have to be junk food, necessarily.

I've decided that every ten pounds I lose I'm going to treat myself to Sweet Frog (:

nene01pop

Started at 223--- June 12 and once I got to 200, I got new shoes... OH YEA, I love shoes! I am aiming for 190 now, only 7.5 lbs away. I want to get a pedicure (NEVER HAD ONE) and get my nails done! but I think I will do that next weekend anyways my brother is getting married... But nothing is more rewarding then shopping for smaller size clothes! Mini goals are better for me, if I set my sight too far and hard I lose control and just binge. slow and easy wins the race! good luck to you!

MeltingCandlewax

I dont really do much for like 5 or 10 pounds. I take a picture every 10 pounds. But when i lose 19 more to get down to 200. I would like to get my hair done possibly, thinking highlighted but not sure. When i get to my goal (140) i am going on a cruise with girlfriends. no hubbies and no kids for a week.

IAmJeanaK

I have reached my goal weight. But wld like to lose maybe 10 or 15 more lbs & tone up. I give my self one day off from logging & exercising which is Saturdays. I eat & drink whatever I want.

GabyG69

When I first started I thought I would reward myself by going on a shopping spree when I reached my 40 lb. goal. Now that I am almost there (10 lbs. away) and that I am able to see everything that I have accomplished.. agility, strength, endurance, confidence, my body looks better, and so much more.. those things have turned into my reward and my shopping spree is like whatever now.. but I will say that the thought of rewarding myself with a shopping spree and possibly looking good in a bikini at the end, kept me motivated So... yes I think rewards are a good idea and how u go about them is your own personal choice. Different things work for different people. Mine was the milestone thing but maybe yours will be the monthly or weekly thing Keep at it and never give up!!

elv1ra

i dont understand why you feel like its childish. losing weight takes an incredible amount of work and change and dicipline. its something to be proud of, and you should absolutely feel good about "getting healthy now" instead of feeling bad about "digging yourself out of the unhealthy lifestyle you've adopted". be generous to yourself, appreciate what you're doing and you absolutely deserve a reward for you hard work and dedication.

You can plan a girls night, a mani pedi, a new pair of shoes/purse, you could splurge on something to help you along your journey like a new juicer or heart rate monitor, or a set of free weights or a new workout dvd, a day trip, hire a professional cleaner to take care of your weekend chores one weekend.... the possibilities are endless, and you'll think of something as long as you accept that YOU DESERVE IT!!!

One of my favorite things is splurging on fancy bath bombs that are filled with real flowers. it makes me feel like a godess.

Nic620

I didn't think about rewards as I moved along this journey until later on & I wanted this purse I keep putting off buying. Now 2 pounds away from my goal weight I have it in my mind I will bust out the money for my darn purse finally. It'll be even a better reward if I can meet it buy my MFP anniversary next month!

georgie_lou

I have a non food prize every 5kg...a massage, shoes, new clothes, and when I hit 30kgs an overseas trip! Its a great way to keep motivated.

MrsCarrieRobinson

Thanx everyone, these are super great ideas and perspectives. I really appreciate it!

BrittFit

Current weight 180
175- new shoes
160- lulu lemon outfit
155- bathing suit/cross fit membership
150- tattoo/lulu lemon outfit
UGW 146- shopping spree
If I keep losing as I have been I will be at my goal weight by July 2013

mittens6395

My reward will be getting back into my size 2 clothes hanging in my closet. They cost too much to donate and I won't pay that much for those brands in my current size. If I want my cute stuff to fit .... I need to lose this extra weight.

lithezebra

I'm very gentle with myself. I have a myriad of little rewards for every day that I eat right, log my food, and exercise, so I get something special everyday, like downloading a song or an e-book, watching a movie, new nail polish, spending time online posting silly things. I sometimes reward myself with food, like having coffee on my walk.

Rewarding myself for losing weight never worked, because I didn't lose weight until I started rewarding myself every day. Now I've lost weight, so I'm rewarding myself for doing what it takes to keep it off.